Debt Free Challenge Update

Since we started our debt snowball almost a year and a half ago, we have paid off around $10,000 worth of debt, with several other debts on their way to be ELIMINATED ;-)

A fellow Dave Ramsey follower, Penny Pinchin' Mom, has been keeping up with how much money we have all paid off with her Debt Free Challenge. So far, since January 1, 2010, those of us participating in the challenge have paid off almost $119,000. WOW! THAT IS AMAZING!!! Go read Penny Pinchin' Mom's Blog to add your amount and/or to find out more ;-)

Menu Plan- 5/30-6/5

Here is our dinner menu plan for this week:

Monday- Grilled Chicken, mashed potatoes,salad, and broccoli normandy (grilling extra chicken for tacos on Wed.)

Tuesday- Potato Leek Soup (using the great leeks I got from a friend's garden ;-)

Wednesday- Chicken tacos, brown rice, and salad

Thursday- Bubble & Squeak and salad

Friday- Pizza- (we normally make homemade, but we have those frozen ones I got for dirt cheap for this week) and salad.

Saturday- Egg frittata

Sunday- Roast in the crockpot

I'm also going to make some homemade boysenberry granola (I would do strawberry but I only have boysenberry jam at the moment) and these great granola breakfast bars. 

Free KC Masterpiece- Safeway

Safeway had a new ad in the Sunday paper and there is a great deal on KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce if you still have the coupon from the 5/15 SS. They are on sale for 88 cents each, so after coupon (which will be adjusted down since Safeway does not allow overage) these are FREE! Bummer I didn't know this one was coming because I used my coupons for the City Market sale and paid 66 cents a bottle. Still a fairly good deal but not nearly as good as FREE... oh well, you win some, you lose some.

There is also a coupon in their ad for $2 off a $15 or more purchase of Ranchers Reserve beef ;-)

Helping Tornado Victims in Joplin, MO

For the updated list detailing how you can help, go here http://moneysavingmom.com/2011/05/updated-list-of-how-you-can-help-the-tornado-victims.html. Thanks, Money Saving Mom and all the other bloggers out there that have been working on putting these list together. You guys rock!!

For anyone in my local area that is wanting to send items, I have a box of items that I am sending (I started putting it together to send to Alabama, but tornados keep hitting and I keep adding items). I will be sending the box out to this week, so if anyone wants to add items, let me know. I have to get a bigger box anyway ;-) Or, if anyone happens to be heading to Joplin or any of the other tornado sites to help out, let me know and I will just send this stuff along with you. Thanks guys!

FREE Stuff at Walgreens Next Week (5/29-6/4)

Great deals at Walgreens this week. Keep in mind that you do have to have the same number of items or more items than coupons. In other words, if you have 5 coupons, you have to have at least 5 items. A store coupon and a manufacturer coupon= 2 coupons, so if you only want one of the item that you have 2 cpns for, you will need to pick up another filler item (we usually either get cheap candy or pencils).
*Aquafresh Kids toothpaste- 99 cents with in-ad cpn. (Use $1/1 cpn from 4/17 SS= FREE. HURRY- CPN EXPIRES 5/31!)
*Right Guard Deodorant or Body Wash or Dry Idea Deodorant- BOGO. (Grab the 2, then use B1G1 cpn from 5/1 RP= 2 FREE)
*Ecotrin Pain Relief- 99 cents with in-ad cpn. (Use $1.50/1 cpn from 5/1 RP, price will adjust down to cover the 99 cents, since Walgreens does not allow overage= FREE)

Read about Walgreen's register rewards deals for next week here: http://denverbargains.com/2011/05/walgreens-weekly-9-free-items-3-moneymakers-and-3-diapers/

Grocery Deals- 5/25-6/1

These are the best deals I saw this week. You can visit the store websites to find out what other sales are going on.
City Market/Kroger Stores:
*Raspberries- (6 oz.) $1.00 (If you sign up for Driscoll's email address, they will email you a cpn for 50 cents off, which City Market doubles= FREE)
*$5 off 10 Frozen Food Sale- Pretty decent deals on frozen pizza. I had 4 coupons for both the Digorno and California Pizza Kitchen for $1.25 off of 1 that I had picked up from store blinkies a few months ago (I have the kids go around and collect coupons for me when we go grocery shopping. The coupons disappear from the store whenever there is a sale so it is a good idea to collect them for later just in case. I have ended up with free cereal and a lot of other items doing this), so I got those for a really good deal. And, then I used the Tony's coupon from 5/22 SS for $1 off on 3 (From Denver Post). To finish off my 10 item order, I picked up 3 bags of Ore-Ida Sweet Potato Fries with coupons they had on Facebook a few weeks ago for $1 off per bag (had 2 of those) and I had a coupon for a free one that I turned in as well.
* Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce- $1 (use $1 off 3 cpn from 5/22 SS= 66 cents) These are 77 cents at Albertson's this week, so much better deal there if you are near one.
*KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce- $1.66 (Use $1 of 1 cpn from 5/22 SS)= 66 cents

Safeway:
Remember that you can go on there website and upload all the store cpns on your card so you don't have to worry about clipping them from the ad (or in most cases with Safeway, getting to the store and realizing they are out of ads). Oh, and remember you do have to spend $10, before coupons, to use the in-ad cpns.
*Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs- 99 cents (with in-ad cpn or e-coupon). This includes the premium ones that don't have added nitrates and nitrites. (Use cpn from 5/15 SS for $1 off 2)
*Heinz Ketchup- $1.69 (with in-ad cpn or e-cpn). Use coupon from 5/22 SS for 25 cents off one (doubles to 50 cents off).
* Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce and Lawry's Marinades- 99 cents. Use cpn from 5/8 SS insert for 55 cents off one Jack Daniels BBQ (doubles to $1= FREE) + use 50 cents off 1 cpn from 5/15 RP for Lawry's (doubles to $1= FREE)
*Popsicles- $1.99 (Fri-Mon Only). Load e-coupon for $2 off popsicles= FREE.
*Wish Bone Salad Dressing- $1.19 (with in-ad cpn or e-coupon). Use 50 cents/1 cpn from 5/22 RP (doubles) = 19 cent salad dressing.

Albertson's:
For the Albertson's deals this week, including how to get free relish, really cheap mustard, and free worchestershire sauce, visit: http://springsbargains.com/2011/05/albertsons-weekly-free-relish-worcestershire-sauce-and-more/

Free Popsicles at Safeway: Fri-Mon Only

This Memorial Day Weekend, Safeway has a great deal on popsicles. They have the larger box of Popsicle brand novelties on sale for $1.99. If you are signed up with the Safeway website, you can upload an e-coupon for these popsicles for $2.00 off making them free. All you have to pay is tax, if your city charges tax on groceries. Ours does, which is one reason I try to get as much shopping done in Colorado Springs or Pueblo as possible. The extra amount you pay on tax here and there really adds up over time. 

Top Reasons to Not Price Match at Walmart

Walmart is trying really hard to make your shopping experience much easier. They have always offered price matching with ads and now they even offer it if you just tell them about a better deal at another store. But, there are still reasons why going to Walmart and price matching everything on your shopping list is not a good idea.

1. You cannot double coupons at Walmart. This is a big one when you are talking about a 50 cent coupon going along with a sale. That 50 cent coupon doubles to $1 at other stores (such as City Market and other Kroger Stores, Safeway, and Albertsons). This means that if you take the same sell to Walmart and hand them your coupon, you are not getting the best deal possible. Of course, if your coupon is a $1 or more, this is not an issue. The only coupons I ever use at Walmart are a $1 or more in value.
2. You do not get fuel points. One big reason we buy most of our groceries at City Market is because of the fuel points we earn on every purchase. This does not mean that I am willing to pay more money for an item for the fuel points. It just means that I shop around to make sure I am getting a deal before I buy anything and I also make sure that I have coupons for almost every item in my cart (generally I try to have coupons for everything but this doesn't always work out when you are buying produce or meat). I have a price book that I have kept for some time that helps me keep track of prices at the different stores I shop at and I also have a very good memory when it comes to knowing how much something costs.
3. You cannot stack coupons at Walmart. This is another big way to save money with coupons. Walgreens, Safeway, and Target (as well as CVS and Rite Aid but these stores aren't in our area) allow you to stack a manufacturers coupon with one of their store coupons. This is one of the many reasons that I absolutely love Target!

Now, this isn't to say that if you are too busy to go to more than one store to shop during the week you shouldn't go to Walmart. I personally follow the sales and generally only go to Walmart a couple of times a month. I also do not buy a lot of processed foods and I get most of our pantry staples from Costco once a month or whenever we are near (the nearest Costco is about 50 miles away). Also, keep in mind that I shop to add to my stockpile and to pick up fresh produce for the week. Stockpiling allows me to plan menus a month in advance which overall makes my shopping trips easier because I don't have to shop every week if I am too busy to do so. This is probably why the convenience of shopping at just one store doesn't really appeal to me that much. And, truthfully, I save a lot of money by doing this so I am totally happy doing things this way. 

Baking day ;-)

It was an awesome rainy day today... So thankful for the much needed rain. I took advantage of the cooler weather and baked 4 loaves of whole wheat bread (i will post the link later) & 18 whole wheat hamburger buns (recipe from www.heavenlyhomemakers.com). I wanted to take part in the freezer cooking challenge & figured bread would be great since we were all out anyway. You can find out more about the challenge at www.heavenlyhomemakers.com.

I love city market!!!

Just left city market & spent $3.46 total for 4 boxes of ronzoni whole wheat pasta, 1 bag of boulder chips, 2 bags of snyder's pretzels, 1 jar of ragu spaghetti sauce, & 2 boxes of mom's natural cereal. I love their mega sale! And, of course, I love my coupons... In fact, with my coupons I got everything except for the ragu & pretzels FREE!